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DR. RAM MANOHAR LOHIA NATIONAL LAW

UNIVERSITY LUCKNOW(U.P.)
2014-15

ENGLISH
ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS

Submitted to:- Submitted by:-
Dr.(Mrs.)Alka Singh Shubham Nider
Assistant Professor(Law) R.no.=135 Sec-B
Faculty Member B.A.LL.B(Hons.)
1
st
Semester


Teachers sign:- Students sign:-


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:-

Firstly, I would like to thank respected Assistant Professor
Dr.(Mrs.)Alka Singh, for giving me such a golden opportunity to
show my skills and capability through this project. This project is the
result of the extensive ultrapure study, hard work and labour, put into
to make it directly or indirectly contributed in the development of
this work and who influenced my thinking, behaviour, and acts during
the course of study. Lastly, I would like to thank the almighty and my
parents for their moral support and my friends with whom I
shared my day-to-day experience and received lots of
suggestions that improved my quality of work.
By:-
Shubham Nider







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CONTENT:-

1.Introduction4
2.Types Of Environmental Hazards5
Physical hazards5
Chemical hazards 5
Biologicalhazards..5
Cultural hazards6
3.Indoor Environmental Hazards6
4.Physical Hazards, and their
Adverse Health Effects.6
5.Chemical Hazards, and their
Adverse Health Effects.8
6.Biological Hazards, and their
Adverse Health Effects...11
7.Hierarchy Of Hazards Control12
Elimination12
Substitution...12
Engineered controls.12
Administrative controls...13
Personal protective equipment13


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INTRODUCTION:-
As we enter the twenty-first century, the earth supports a human population which, in
general, is more numerous, healthier and wealthier than ever before. At the same time, there
is an unprecedented awareness of risk in the environment together with a growing concern for
the continuing death and destruction caused by 'natural' hazards. This paradox exists because
natural hazards and human progress are rooted in the same ongoing processes of global
change. As the world population grows and owns more material possessions, and as the built
environment expands to accommodate such changes, greater numbers of people and property
are put at risk from the forces of nature. These demographic and social trends also impose
heavy burdens on precious natural assets, such as land and water. Many people in the poorest
countries now have a fragile dependence on a degraded resource base which becomes
progressively less able to withstand pressures from environmental forces. Human progress
has also led to the emergence of 'man-made' threats. Environmental hazards are no longer
limited to major geophysical events, such as earthquakes and floods, but include industrial
explosions, major transport accidents and other technological threats. A growing recognition
of hazard is encouraged because disasters make news.With the continuing improvement in
global communications and widespread media reporting, the graphic results of hazards, both
natural and man-made, feature repeatedly in newspapers and on television screens
throughout the world.

What, then, is the reality? Is the worId becoming a more dangerous place? Are natural
hazards increasing? Why does human society appear more vulnerable to certain
environmental processes? What is the added risk from the newer technological hazards? Is it
possible to eliminate environmental hazards? If not, how can we define an acceptable level of
risk? What is a disaster? What are the best means of mitigating disaster? Why, despite the
investment in disaster reduction measures, do losses continue to rise?

Clear answers to all these questions remain elusive. Although a concern for risk can be traced
back to the earliest recorded times (Cove110 and Mumpower, 1985), broad-based research
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into natural hazards did not begin until almost the middle of the twentieth century. Until then,
hazards had been viewed as isolated geophysical events, somehow divorced from society,
which were to be tamed by engineering works, such as dams and levees. Gilbert White (1936,
1945) was the first person to question these attitudes by asserting that river control schemes
were not necessarily the best or the only - way to tackle flood problems in the USA. As a
geographer, White's contribution was to introduce a social perspective. He cast natural
hazards into a human ecological framework, operating at the interface of both natural and
human systems, which allowed for other solutions than the 'structural' schemes as then
implemented by civil engineers. Over the next 20-30 years, this pioneering work was
extended by geographers associated with the 'Chicago School', whilst social scientists, such
as sociologists, began their own interpretation of the role played by people in 'natural'
hazards.

Types Of Environmental Hazards:-
We face countless environmental hazards every day. To better understand them, we can
think of them as falling into four categories: physical, chemical, biological and cultural.
Physical hazards are physical processes that occur naturally in the environment.
These include natural disaster events such as earthquakes, tornadoes, volcanoes, blizzards,
landslides and droughts. Not all physical hazards are discrete events - some are ongoing,
like ultraviolet radiation. UV radiation is considered a hazard because it damages DNA and
can cause human health issues like skin cancer and cataracts.
Chemical hazards can be both natural and human-made chemicals in the
environment. Human-made chemical hazards include many of the synthetic chemicals we
produce, like disinfectants, pesticides and plastics. Some chemical hazards occur naturally
in the environment, like the heavy metals lead and mercury. Some organisms even produce
natural chemicals that are an environmental hazard, such as the compounds in peanuts and
dairy that cause allergic reactions in humans.
Biological hazards come from ecological interactions between organisms. Viruses,
bacterial infections, malaria and tuberculosis are all examples of biological hazards. When
these pathogens and diseases are transferred between organisms, it's called an infectious
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disease. We suffer from these diseases and pathogens because we're being parasitized by
another organism, which, while hazardous, is also a natural process.
Cultural hazards, also known as social hazards, result from your location,
socioeconomic status, occupation and behavioral choices. For example, smoking cigarettes
is hazardous to your health, and this is a behavioral choice. If you live in a neighborhood
with lots of crime, this is a hazard based on your location. Similarly, your diet, exercise
habits and primary mode of transportation all influence your health and the health of the
environment around you.
Indoor Environmental Hazards:-
As you can see, environmental hazards can come from a variety of sources. While many
hazards come from outdoor sources, indoor sources are especially important to understand
because we spend so much of our time inside. Your home, office and car are all part of your
environment and can all be sources of environmental hazards.
For example, radon gas is a very toxic indoor hazard. Radon is a colorless and odorless
radioactive gas that seeps into homes from rocks, soil and water underneath. It is the second
leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S., coming in just behind tobacco smoke.
Lead is another indoor environmental hazard. Lead is a toxic heavy metal that can cause
damage to major organs like your brain, liver, kidneys and stomach. Lead also causes
mental retardation, anemia and hearing loss. Lead is found in homes in old pipes and paint.
When water passes through lead pipes, it contaminates the water and causes lead poising.
Lead in paint is especially dangerous to children because babies and young children like to
peel paint from walls and then eat or inhale the lead from the paint.
Asbestos is yet another indoor hazard. Asbestos has long been used for insulation in
buildings, but its good insulating properties also make it dangerous. When asbestos is
inhaled, the fibrous structure of this mineral makes it stick in your lung tissue, and the rest
of the body then produces an acid to fight it. The acid scars the lung tissue but doesn't really
do much to get rid of the asbestos, and the result is lung cancer or non-functioning lungs.

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Physical Hazards, and their Adverse Health
Effects:-
Although you will have heard or read a great deal about the environmental consequences of
global warming, man will probably be affected through famine, or war long before the health
of the population as a whole is harmed to a serious degree by the temperature change.
However increasing extremes of temperature, as a result of climatic change, could result in
increased mortality even in temperate climates.
Important issues concerning physical hazards include those relating to health effects of
electromagnetic radiation and ionising radiation. If one excludes the occupational
environment, then noise and other physical hazards may present a nuisance to many
inhabitants, and impair general well being. Environmental noise does not usually
contribute but notable exceptions may include noisy discotheques and "personal stereos".
Electromagnetic radiation ranges from low frequency,relatively low energy, radiation such as
radio and microwaves through to infra red, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays.
These last as well as other forms of radioactivity such as high energy subatomic particles
(e.g. electrons - Beta rays) can cause intracellular ionisation and are therefore called ionising
radiation. Exposure (UV) radiation carries a increased risk of skin cancer such as melanoma,
and of cataracts which are to an extent exposure related. Some pollutants such as
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) used as refrigerants or in aerosol propellants or in the
manufacture of certain plastics can damage the "ozone layer" in the higher atmosphere
(stratosphere) and thus allow more UV light to reach us, and harm us directly..
Radioactivity is associated with an exposure dependent risk of some cancers notably
leukaemia. Contrary to popular belief however, most radiation to which the average person is
exposed is natural in origin, and, of the man made sources, medical diagnosis and treatment
is on average the largest source to the individual. A very important issue is the extent to gas
arising from certain rock types beneath dwellings can contribute to cancer risk. According to
some estimates it could result in a few thousand cancer deaths per year in the U.K. (but still
probably less than one twentieth of the cancer deaths alone caused by tobacco smoking).
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Ionising radiation from the nuclear industry and from fallout from detonations contributes
less than 1% of the annual average dose to inhabitants of the U.K. The explanation for
leukaemia clusters around nuclear power plants is not yet resolved. Similar clustering can
occur in other parts of the country. The effect of viral infections associated with population
shifts may be important but requires further study.
Non ionising electrical, magnetic or electromagnetic fields are an increasing focus of
attention. The scientific evidence of adverse health effects from general environmental
exposure to these fields is "not proven". If there are adverse effects yet to be proven, the risk
is probably likely to be very small.


Chemical Hazards, and their Adverse Health
Effects:-
If one includes tobacco smoke as an environmental hazard then it probably represents the
single biggest known airborne chemical risk to health, whether measured in terms of death
rates or ill-health (from lung cancer, other lung disease such as chronic bronchitis and
emphysema, and disease of the heart, especially, and of blood vessels and other parts of the
body). To a much lesser degree of risk, these adverse effects apply to non-smokers exposed
passively to sidestream tobacco smoke.
General airborne pollution arises from a variety of causes but can usefully be subdivided into
pollution from combustion or from other sources. The image shows the silhouette of a power
station - an important source of airborne products of combustion.
Combustion of coal and other solid fuels can produce smoke (containing polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons - PAH) and sulphur dioxide besides other agents such as those also produced
by:
Combustion of liquid petroleum products which can generate carbon monoxide, oxides of
nitrogen and other agents. Industry and incineration can generate a wide range of products of
combustion such as oxides of sulphur and nitrogen, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,
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dioxins etc. Combustion of any fossil fuel generates varying amounts of particulate matter. It
also adds to the environmental burden of carbon dioxide - an important "green house" gas
but in these low concentrations it does not affect human health directly. Combustion of fuel
can also generate hazardous substances in other ways, besides by chemical oxidation, such as
by liberating benzene (from the "cracking" of petrol) or lead (from leaded petrol). Some of
the primary pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide can, under the influence of UV light generate
secondary pollutants notably ozone (an allotrope of oxygen).Find out more about in relation
to these substances.
Undoubtedly tens of thousands of deaths have resulted from acute pollution episodes (e.g.
the smogs in large cities in the early 1950s). Nowadays some people e.g. asthmatics can be
adversely affected by excursions in levels of urban air pollution (notably ozone) in some
major cities. What is still unclear is the extent to which urban airborne pollution in the
majority of cities complying with current air quality guidelines, contributes to ill health, i.e.
whether the air quality guidelines are stringent enough, to protect all the population.
Health effects of concern are , bronchitis and similar lung diseases, and there is good
evidence relating an increased risk of symptoms of these diseases with increasing
concentration of sulphur dioxide, ozone and other pollutants. Moreover, there is increasing
evidence to suggest that pollution from particulate matter at levels hitherto considered "safe"
is associated with an increased risk of morbidity and mortality from cardiopulmonary disease
especially in people with other risk factors (such as old age, or heart and lung disease). These
concerns are the subject of a great deal of research throughout the world. Although high
occupational exposures to exhaust especially from diesel, and to benzene does increase the
risk of some , reliable direct evidence of an increased to cancer risk to the population at large
from the lower levels to which they are exposed is lacking.
Incineration can also generate hazardous substances if substances not best suited for disposal
by incineration are "disposed" of in this way or if incineration is carried out at too low a
temperature (for example this may generate dioxins).
Products of combustion and other harmful airborne pollutants can also arise within the home.
Thus nitrogen dioxide generated by gas fires or gas cookers can contribute to an increased
respiratory morbidity of those living in the houses. Certain modern building materials may
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liberate gases or vapours such as formaldehyde at low concentration but which might
provoke mild respiratory and other symptoms in some occupants. Modern building standards
for asbestos in buildings are such that the resulting airborne fibre concentrations are so small
as not to present any risk at all of asbestosis. However some estimates suggest that perhaps
one extra death per year might result in the UK from asbestos related cancer as a result of
non-occupational exposure in buildings. The image shows an asbestos body i.e. an asbestos
fibre which has been coated by ferruginous protein during its residence within the human
lung.
Large scale industrial releases with serious acute effects are fortunately rare but you might
recollect some events such as in Bhopal (India). Various smaller scale events occur such as
leaks from road tankers, or fires in warehouses and factories.Special local environmental
exposures can arise for example in communities exposed to drifting pesticide sprays
containing say, organophosphates. Some natural phenomena such as volcanic eruptions can
present serious risks to health. Fortunately they are rare but can be catastrophic.
There is good epidemiological evidence that this can have a relatively small but measurable
harmful effect especially on neurological function even at levels hitherto considered
"acceptable". Other adverse effects can arise from chemicals added to the water.
Chlorination of water has probably saved millions of Some concern has been raised about
possible increased cancer risks in association with chlorinated water but there is as yet no
proof that a causal association between the two exists. Fluoride added to water reduces the
risks of caries but can also have unwanted effects such as mottling of the teeth.
Nitrate in water usually arising from fertiliser leaching (natural or artificial) can increase the
risk of methaemoglobinaemia ('blue babies') in bottle fed infants but this is extremely rare.
Although pesticides can and do leach into water, there is no evidence that the current
standards for water quality are inadequate in this respect, but most standards are based on
evidence other than human epidemiology which in this context is extremely difficult to
conduct.
Beyond the point of supply further problems in drinking water quality may result. Thus for
example water tanks containing lead may increase the burden of this metal in the water,
while water softeners may increase its sodium content (can be harmful for bottle fed
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infants).
Deposition of solid hazardous waste can result in harmful substances leaching into water
supplies, becoming airborne or being swallowed or otherwise absorbed directly (for example
because of children playing on the sites). If the sites are well contained to prevent leaching
into water supplies and segregated from human activity then the risk to human health is
usually immeasurably small. However where the position of disposal sites and their contents
are unknown and houses are proposed to be built on them or they are to be developed in
other ways, extensive prior investigation may be needed in an attempt to estimate health
risks.

Biological Hazards, and their Adverse Health
Effects:-
These generally fall into two broad categories: those which produce adverse health effects
through infection and those which produce adverse effects in non-infective (allergic) ways.
As regards microbiological hazards substantial improvements in the health of the population
have resulted historically from the supply of drinking water free from disease causing
organisms such as cholera. Similar improvements can be expected in the health of the
inhabitants of developing countries if microbiologically safe water is provided by avoidance
of contamination, and appropriate purification including disinfection (usually by
chlorination). Occasional outbreaks of waterborne infection still arise from contamination of
drinking water by soiled water (usually coliforms).
There can be other opportunities for further bacteriological contamination. Thus Legionella
can grow in sumps or dead legs in the plumbing system and may then be dispersed as
aerosols from showers.
Recreational water which is heavily contaminated with pathogens, notably coliform bacteria
has been shown to be associated with an increased risk of gastrointestinal and other
infectious illness, usually self-limiting.
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So-called "clinical" waste is not merely an occupational hazard of health care workers but is
becoming an increasingly more important risk, for example for children finding blood
stained needles.
Many allergens such as grass pollen grains, or faecal material from house dust mites may
cause attacks of asthma or "hay fever" (allergic rhinitis). There is evidence that high
exposure to these allergens early in life, increases the risk of suffering from asthma later on.
An increasing number of studies suggest that airborne chemical pollution can act
synergistically with naturally occurring allergens and result in effects on lung function at
concentrations lower than those at which either the allergen or the chemical irritant on its
own would have produced an adverse effect.
HIERARCHY OF HAZARDS CONTROL:-
Elimination:-
Eliminating the hazardphysically removing itis the most effective hazard control. For
example, if employees must work high above the ground, the hazard can be eliminated by
moving the piece they are working on to ground level to eliminate the need to work at
heights.
Substitution:-
Substitution, the second most effective hazard control, involves replacing something that
produces a hazard (similar to elimination) with something that does not produce a hazard
for example,replacing lead based paint with acrylic paints,. To be an effective control, the
new product must not produce another hazards. Because airborne dust can be hazardous, if a
product can be purchased with a larger particle size, the smaller product may effectively be
substituted with the larger product.
Engineered controls:-
The third most effective means of controlling hazards is engineered controls. These do not
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eliminate hazards, but rather isolate people from hazards. Capital costs of engineered
controls tend to be higher than less effective controls in the hierarchy, however they may
reduce future costs For example, a crew might build a work platform rather than purchase,
replace, and maintain full arrest equipment. "Enclosure and isolation" creates a physical
barrier between personnel and hazards, such as using remotely controlled equipment. Fume
hoods can remove airborne contaminants as a means of engineered control.
Administrative controls:-
Administrative controls are changes to the way people work. Examples of administrative
controls include procedure changes, employee training, and installation of signs and warning
labels (such as those workplace hazardous materials information system). Administrative
controls do not remove hazards, but limit or prevent people's exposure to the hazards, such as
completing road construction at night when fewer people are driving.
Personal protective equipment:-
(PPE) includes gloves,respirators,hard hats,safety glasses,high visibility clothes and safety
footwear. PPE is the least effective means of controlling hazards because of the high
potential for damage to render PPE ineffective Additionally, some PPE, such as respirators,
increase physiological effort to complete a task and, therefore, may require medical
examinations to ensure workers can use the PPE without risking their health.






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BIBLEOGRAPHY:-
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/
http://envfor.nic.in/
Newspapers, magzines Referred.
BOOKS REFERRED:-
1. Environmental Pollution and Hazards L. R.
Patro Discovery Publishing House
2. Global Environmental Crises : Hazards and
Risk Management S. Gaur Aadi
Publications/book Enclave